Tag: Soured cream

Tomato Salad 2

  • This is a variation on my tomato salad, which my friend told me about.
  • Like my tomato salad but with soured cream dressing.
  • Mama never made it like this – maybe it is from a different part of Poland?
  • It tastes very nice.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 large ripe tomatoes – home grown are the best
  • 1 large onion
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 125 – 250ml of soured cream
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • Chopped chives or garlic chives to garnish

METHOD

  • Slice the tomatoes thinly.
  • Slice the onion thinly.
  • Mix the tomatoes and onions together.
  • Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Arrange on a dish.
  • Cover with lemon juice.
  • Cover with soured cream to taste.
  • Garnish with chopped chives or garlic chives.
  • Mix the soured cream with the salad as you serve it.

Brussel Sprouts with Horseradish

  • Although I usually serve Brussel Sprouts with buttered breadcrumbs (à la Polonaise), I am always looking for other ways to serve them.
  • This recipe uses two often used in Polish ingredients – crispy smoked bacon pieces – skwarki and soured cream.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g of Brussel sprouts
  • 6 slices of smoked bacon
  • 3 tablespoons of horseradish sauce
  • 6 tablespoons of soured cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste.

METHOD

  • Steam the Brussel sprouts in the usual way.
  • Chop the bacon into small squares and cook in a frying pan to release all the fat and give you crispy bits – skwarki 
  • Mix the horseradish sauce with the soured cream.
  • Mix the cooked Brussel sprouts, first with the bacon – season to taste –
  • Then add the horseradish soured cream mix.
  • Serve straight away.

Pumpkin Soup – 2

  • When I came to file away my hard copy of my post for Pumpkin Soup – 1, I realised that I had made a pumpkin soup about  a year ago! 
  • It was a little different with the onions having been fried in butter.
  • *

  • This soup is a little richer than Pumpkin Soup – 1.

  • It has the addition of  soured cream.

  • However tomato purée is not used.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g of pumpkin flesh (peeled and seeds removed).
  • 2 red peppers
  • 2 large onions
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon of hot paprika powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of  salt.
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
  • Large handful of flat leaved parsley – chopped
  • 125 – 250ml of soured cream
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Small handful of flat leaved parsley – chopped – to serve

METHOD

  • Remove all the peel and the seeds from the pumpkin.
  • Chop the flesh into small chunks.
  • De-seed the peppers and cut the flesh into small pieces.
  • Chop the onions into small pieces.
  • Place all these chopped vegetables into a large saucepan and add the vegetable stock.
  • Add the lemon juice, salt and paprika powder.
  • Bring to the boil and then add a lid and allow to simmer.
  • Cook until the vegetables are soft.
  • Add the chopped parsley and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Take the pan off the heat.
  • Use a stick blender to liquidise the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Bring back to the boil and take off the heat again.
  • Slowly stir in the soured cream until it is well mixed in.
  • *
  • Sprinkle with the parsley to serve.

Royal Doulton Burgundy soup plate

Pumpkin Soup – 1

  • I have never cooked with pumpkins before – dynia in Polish.
  • This will be my first try with the first of two soups.
  • This one is the easiest.
  • Having said that, peeling the pumpkin can be difficult.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g of pumpkin flesh (peeled and seeds removed).
  • 2 red peppers
  • 2 large onions
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato purée 
  • 1 teaspoon of hot paprika powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of  salt.
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • *
  • Small handful of flat leaved parsley – chopped – to serve

METHOD

  • Remove all the peel and the seed from the pumpkin.
  • Chop the flesh into small chunks.
  • De-seed the peppers and cut the flesh into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Place all these chopped vegetables into a large saucepan and add the vegetable stock.
  • Add the tomato purée, lemon juice, salt and paprika powder.
  • Bring to the boil and then add a lid and allow to simmer.
  • Cook until the vegetables are soft.
  • Take the pan off the heat.
  • Use a stick blender to purée the soup.
  • Season to taste.
  • *
  • Serve with a little chopped flat leaved parsley.

Royal Standard – Blossom Time soup plate

Tartar Sauce

  • Sos tartarski  is a classic cold sauce in Poland.
  • Books say that this is a French sauce but they must have been influenced by Polish ingredients!
  • Usually served with fish (hot or cold) or hard- boiled eggs.
  • Very easy to make especially if using bought mayonnaise.
  • Use the best bought mayonnaise – full fat not the reduced type. 
  • I usually use Hellmann’s mayonnaise.
  • Soured cream and lemon juice can also be added.
  • Amounts are not fixed but you are aiming for a soft dropping sauce.

Ingredients

  • 4- 5 tablespoons of mayonnaise
  • 2 -3 gherkins
  • 1-2 tablespoons of capers
  • 1-2 tablespoons of soured cream
  • ½ to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • *
  • Some chopped fresh dill to serve – if available.

Method 

  • Mix the mayonnaise, soured cream and lemon juice to a soft dropping density.
  • Chop the gherkins into small pieces.
  • Stir the chopped gherkins and capers into the mayonnaise mixture.
  • Put the sauce into a serving bowl and sprinkle the dill on top.

Tomato Sauce – Summer

  • This is best made in the summer when you can get very ripe tomatoes.
  • Ones from the garden or the market, which are so full of flavour.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 large ripe tomatoes
  • ½ small onion
  • 250ml vegetable stock
  • 125ml soured cream
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1-2 teaspoons of sugar – optional
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  • Skin the tomatoes using boiling water.
  • Chop the tomato up into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Simmer the tomatoes and onion in the vegetable stock until soft.
  • Add the lemon juice.
  • Season to taste.
  • Adjust sweetness with sugar to taste.
  • Stir in the soured cream and serve.

Gherkin Sauce – 2

  • This is a creamier sauce than gherkin sauce –  version 1.
  • Once again simple to make.
  • Goes well with cooked white fish or roast chicken or pork.
  • The tangy taste is refreshing in the summer.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 tablespoon of plain flour
  • 250ml vegetable stock
  • 125ml liquor from gherkins
  • 3 medium gherkins – chopped fine or coarse grated
  • 125ml soured cream
  • Sugar to taste – optional

Method

  • Melt the butter in a pan.
  • Add the flour – mix and cook gently.
  • Add the stock and gherkin liquor slowly.
  • Mix and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the gherkins and cook for a few minutes.
  • Stir whilst this cooks.
  • Add sugar to taste.
  • Stir in the soured cream before serving.

Illustration –  by Czesław Wielhorski from my Kuchnia Polska book – first published in the 1950s. 

  • Super with cooked white fish!

Mushroom Sauce – Fresh Mushrooms

  • Nowadays you can get fresh mushrooms all year round so this sauce can be made at any time.
  • In Poland you can buy mushroom stock cubes which are very useful especially for making sauces.
  • Years ago I brought loads back to England – now you can find these in the many Polish food shops.
  • The ones I use are made by Knorr and contain a small amount of dried mushroom extract.*
  • * If you cannot get these maybe use a few drops of  Henderson’s sauce or Lea & Perrins – NOT TRIED.

Ingredients

  • 150g fresh button mushroom caps – white and/or chestnut
  • 500ml hot boiling water
  • 1 mushroom stock cube
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of potato flour or cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 large tablespoons of soured cream.
  • Butter to cook the mushrooms in.

Note

I rarely have to add any more salt or pepper as the stock cube has enough seasoning in it.

Method 

  • Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.
  • In a little dish mix the potato flour or cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Remove from the heat and add the 2 large tablespoonfuls of soured cream and mix.

Note

None of these amounts are exact – they are a rough guide depending on what you have – you can use more water, milk or soured cream and so on.

Super served with boiled or creamy mashed potatoes – sprinkle chopped dill or parsley over them before serving.

Great for any roast dinner – especially on Christmas Day.

Served on Carnation (1982 – 1998) and Burgundy (1959 – 1981)  by Royal Doulton.

Mushroom Sauce using Dried Mushrooms

  • Mushroom sauce must be my favourite sauce.
  • I posted a long post with two versions of  mushroom sauce over a year ago.
  • As I have been posting lots of sauce recipes lately I thought I would re-visit mushroom sauce and have split the old post into two.
  • I looked through my Polish cookbooks and many of the mushroom sauces are made with only dried mushrooms.
  • These are delicious and have a strong flavour however it works out very expensive and are not available everywhere.
  • Dried & fresh mushrooms are used in this recipe.
  • The best dried mushrooms are Boletus edulis, in Poland they are called borowik or prawdzik (translates as the “the real thing”), in Italy porcini.
  • I recently got some other dried mushroom which are also good.

Podgrzybki – Xerocomus badius

Mushroom sauce 

Ingredients

  • 150g fresh button mushroom caps – white and/or chestnut
  • 5g of  dried mushroom (around 3 slices)
  • 500ml hot boiling water
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons of milk
  • 2 large tablespoons of soured cream
  • Butter to cook the mushrooms in
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • You need to start this sauce the night before or in the morning for use in the evening.
  • Cover the dried mushrooms with 500ml of boiling water and leave to soak.
  • The following day take out the reconstituted mushrooms and using a knife you can chop then up into tiny pieces or if the are soft enough you can  spread out the pulp on a chopping board.
  • Slice the mushroom caps into fine slices and fry them gently in some butter till they are soft.
  • Add the dried mushroom pulp and the liquor in which they were seeped.
  • Simmer gently for about 5 to 10 minutes.

  • In a little dish mix the cornflour with the milk.
  • Add the cornflour mixture to the cooked mushrooms and stir gently over the heat until the sauce thickens.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste.
  • Remove from the heat and add the 2 large spoonfuls of soured cream and mix well in.

Note

None of these amounts are exact – they are a rough guide depending on what you have – you can use more water, milk or soured cream and so on.

Super served with boiled or creamy mashed potatoes – sprinkle chopped dill or parsley over them before serving.

Served on Burgundy (1959 – 1981) and Carnation (1982 – 1998)  by Royal Doulton.

Sweet Knedle – 2

  • In some parts of Poland the dough for plum knedle is made from cold boiled potatoes.
  • Best to boil the potatoes earlier than you need them.
  • In Poland small dark plums called węgierki (Hungarian plums) are used.
  • I think that in America these are called Italian plums.
  • Use ripe plums – small ones are best.

    Ingredients 

  • 8 plums
  • *
  • 600g cold boiled potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon of melted butter
  • 1 egg and 1 yolk
  • 120g plain flour (approx)
  • Pinch of salt
  • *
  • To serve
  • Butter
  • Dried breadcrumbs
  • Ground cinnamon
  • or
  • Soured cream
  • Icing sugar
  • Ground cinnamon 

Method

  • Make sure the potatoes are cold.
  • Mash the potatoes or use a ricer so you do not have any lumps.
  • Add the melted butter, egg, yoke and a pinch of salt.
  • Mix well together.
  • Add the flour bit by bit – you want a dough that you can handle but not too stiff.
  • *
  • Mix around 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
  • Wash and dry the plums and remove the stalks.
  • Remove the stone but do not cut through completely.
  • Put ½ to 1 teaspoon of the sugar mixture in the cavity.
  • *
  • Divide the dough into 8 equal balls.
  • Flatten each ball.
  • Put a plum in the centre of the dough.
  • Shape the dough around the plum.
  • Seal up the “seam”.
  • Fashion a ball or oval with your hands.
  • *
  • Fill a wide pan with water and a tablespoon of salt and bring to the boil.
  • Drop in the knedle in batches – 3 or 4 at a time.
  • Boil for around 8-10 minutes.
  • They are ready when they float to the surface.
  • *
  • Serve with hot buttered breadcrumbs and a pinch of cinnamon
  • or
  • Serve dusted with icing sugar and soured cream and a large sprinkling of cinnamon.
  • Wedgwood – Chelsea Garden
  • Royal Doulton – Carnation

Note

I have read that some people serve these as a side dishes with roast meats.